The original Star Wars trilogy is headed back to theaters this August, courtesy of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema.
A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi are returning to the big screen this summer at select Alamo Drafthouse theaters across the country (via EW). The film versions to be shown are the 1997 re-releases, which include some of George Lucas’s divisive tweaks. Tweaks or not, this is a rare opportunity to see Episodes IV, V, and VI in a theater. For some young fans, this may end up being their first viewing ever of the original trilogy; from the perspective of someone who was born in the 1990s, it’s a chance I’d jump at for the kids in my life.
Henri Mazza, vice president of Special Events at Alamo Drafthouse, spoke to Entertainment Weekly about this historic event.
"“It’s always been a dream to show the original Star Wars trilogy again – somehow, someway… Seeing the original trilogy on the big screen for the first time is a real life-altering event and just a supreme amount of fun. When the films became available to book for screenings like these, we jumped at the chance to do something big.”"
The only sad part of this news is that the original trilogy is only being screened in twenty cities. The Return of the Trilogy, the official website for the event, has a list of the locations where you can catch a viewing, as well as the dates. Tickets go on sale May 4th.
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Confession time: the only two Star Wars movies I’ve seen in theaters are The Clone Wars and The Force Awakens. But I’d love to see the original three films in all their big screen glory. They won’t be showing in any town near where I live; but for this special occasion, it might be worth the trip.
For some people, though, the experience will be tainted, maybe even avoided, because of the fact that the versions being screened are not the original theatrical releases. That’s not a problem for me, as I watched the re-releases more often growing up. To me, the changes George Lucas made, like making Greedo shoot first and adding some choice CG effects, enhance the movies and make them better, more up to date. But there are a lot of fans who feel differently. For years, fans have been begging for Blu Rays of the theatrical releases (even though there are theatrical releases on DVD, but whatever). Recently, a group of fans even restored the original version of A New Hope for online viewing. The intense dislike, even hatred of the re-releases is often palpable.
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Will you be going to see the original trilogy in theaters, or will the fact that they’re the re-releases drive you away? Let us know in the comments.